Bigamy Decriminalized In Utah

As seen on the Independent

The state of Utah no longer treats bigamy as a crime after downgrading the practice to an infraction – the same level as a parking ticket.

The change in the law, under which “unlawful cohabitation” has been a crime since 1935, is intended to ensure that people living in families and communities that practice so-called “plural marriage” no longer live in fear of the law, which some say has left victims of abuse too afraid of the authorities to seek help and allowed abusers to keep their activities hidden.

Uh huh. Me back in 2008:

I think the constitutional issues coming out of this will be huge. Utah was admitted into the union on the basis of it banning polygamy. Seeing that the argument about 'state interest' has been shot down in two states, for maintaining marriage as between one man and one woman, I think the LDS church will soon be in a position to sue not only the state of Utah but the Federal Government over this issue. Since "family" is being defined in terms of who loves who and who can raise children (as opposed to producing them), there is no legal standing to ban polygamy.

12 years ago.